Israel extends ground offensive into Khan Younis

이스라엘군, 가자 남부 칸유니스 시가전 개시 탱크 진입 Good evening. Thank you for joining us. I’m Yoon Jung-min. We begin with the war happening in the Middle East, now into the second month. Israel’s military campaign against Hamas has been expanded to southern Gaza with its soldiers now at the heart of a major city there. Ahn Sung-jin takes a closer look at what’s to come next. The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday reached southern Gaza’s main city of Khan Younis, marking what they called “the most intense day of combat“ in five weeks of ground operations against Hamas. Backed by warplanes and tanks, the IDF reached the heart of the city, where many Palestinians who fled since the start of the armed conflict are now situated. According to the chief of Israel’s General Staff, Israeli forces have secured many Hamas strongholds in the northern Gaza Strip, and are now operating against its strongholds in the south. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed that the Israel Defense Forces should retain control of the region following the disarmament of Gaza and the end of the war, shooting down any notion that an international force could be responsible for security in the Gaza Strip. “In order for Gaza to be demilitarized there’s just one force that can demilitarize it and that power is the IDF. No international force can be responsible for that. “ However, with the majority of Hamas militants and infrastructure being left, questions arise on what the final exit would be as more than 2 months have passed since the attack. An expert suggests that with conflicting interests, there will be no clear breakthrough or outcome. “The two sides, Israel and the U.S., are currently unable to coordinate their opinions on how to lead the post-Hamas era.“ He suggested multiple scenarios with how the post-Israel-Hamas conflict could evolve whether it is clearing out Hamas and its infrastructure no matter how long it takes, implanting a new governing force, or restoring the previous Palestinian government. Professor Paik says out of these possible scenarios none of them are quite plausible for now. “Complete eradication of Hamas while rescuing all hostages cannot be compatible. There are no other powerful forces other than Hamas that have the power to take over the Gaza strip, and the previous governing body in Palestine was already unpopular due to corruption“ Despite Israel’s intentions to govern the Gaza strip, with several actors holding their own interests, it is becoming difficult to pinpoint a clear path forward in the Middle East. Ahn Sung-jin, Arirang News. #Israel #Gaza #Hamas #KhanYounis #이스라엘 #하마스 #칸유니스 #시가전 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2023-12-06, 18:00 (KST)